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here's my take on the M50 ..
Great job on the hammock .. I think it'll take more then 200 lbs .. and after testing it ... I don't it not lasting any time different from similar material/thread counts ..

"The wise man questions others wisdom because he questions his own, the foolish man because it is different from his own." Leo Stein

I'm gonna have to disagree with you Black Wolf. I had (<--key word) an M50 hammock until it gave me a case of BMG (Butt Meets Ground).

I'm 5'8 175lbs, mine ripped in half from hem to hem. The hems were the only things holding it together. I had maybe 5 nights sleeping in it and many hours lounging in it. It got a small tear in it, presumably from being poked with something in my pack. I put cuben tape on the tear and soldiered on.

Then on the first night of a 4 day trip on the AT with some fellow forum members,while i was falling asleep, I made a slight movement and heard a pop and hit the ground. I thought my suspension had failed because the sound was a pop and not a rip. But nope, the hammock completely ripped in half.

Luckily a few guys in our group were sleeping in the shelter so I was able to borrow a hammock for the night. But believe me when I say it is not fun getting up in sub freezing temps, in the dark, while it is sleeting, sticking your bare feet(only had one pair of dry socks) into wet shoes and completely redoing your hammock setup.

Also luckily it was the first night of the trip and I was able to bail out. Had it been the second night or had I been solo, I would have been screwed.

Moral of the story, M50 is crazy light but user beware. You could find yourself in a bad situation that makes you wish you weren't such a gram weenie and had carried a few more ounces of hammock.

"As a well spent day brings happy sleep, a well spent life brings happy death." -Da Vinci

I'm gonna have to disagree with you Black Wolf. I had (<--key word) an M50 hammock until it gave me a case of BMG (Butt Meets Ground).

I'm 5'8 175lbs, mine ripped in half from hem to hem. The hems were the only things holding it together. I had maybe 5 nights sleeping in it and many hours lounging in it. It got a small tear in it, presumably from being poked with something in my pack. I put cuben tape on the tear and soldiered on.

Then on the first night of a 4 day trip on the AT with some fellow forum members,while i was falling asleep, I made a slight movement and heard a pop and hit the ground. I thought my suspension had failed because the sound was a pop and not a rip. But nope, the hammock completely ripped in half.

Luckily a few guys in our group were sleeping in the shelter so I was able to borrow a hammock for the night. But believe me when I say it is not fun getting up in sub freezing temps, in the dark, while it is sleeting, sticking your bare feet(only had one pair of dry socks) into wet shoes and completely redoing your hammock setup.

Also luckily it was the first night of the trip and I was able to bail out. Had it been the second night or had I been solo, I would have been screwed.

Moral of the story, M50 is crazy light but user beware. You could find yourself in a bad situation that makes you wish you weren't such a gram weenie and had carried a few more ounces of hammock.

Do you use M50 ?? or M50MR ?? I tested M50MR ..

"The wise man questions others wisdom because he questions his own, the foolish man because it is different from his own." Leo Stein

It got a small tear in it, presumably from being poked with something in my pack. I put cuben tape on the tear and soldiered on.

Moral of the story, M50 is crazy light but user beware. You could find yourself in a bad situation that makes you wish you weren't such a gram weenie and had carried a few more ounces of hammock.

I'm of the opinion that any non-ripstop fabric is a poor choice for a hammock (or similar applications where tension is put on the fabric and not seams). So we definitely agree that M50 isn't a great choice for hammocks.

How did you pack the hammock? It seems a bit ridiculous that it would tear while not in use and then get blamed for failing later on though. I'm not saying you did anything wrong...but for future M50 users they might want to store it in a separate pocket in their packs or something to avoid the exact situation you mention.

I used whatever is sold on Thru Hiker. It doesn't it's MR. Where do you get the MR M50?

Originally Posted by jordo_99

I'm of the opinion that any non-ripstop fabric is a poor choice for a hammock (or similar applications where tension is put on the fabric and not seams). So we definitely agree that M50 isn't a great choice for hammocks.

How did you pack the hammock? It seems a bit ridiculous that it would tear while not in use and then get blamed for failing later on though. I'm not saying you did anything wrong...but for future M50 users they might want to store it in a separate pocket in their packs or something to avoid the exact situation you mention.

That's my bad, I should have specified in my first post, it didn't rip where the small tear was. That held up just fine with the cuben tape on it. It ripped pretty much where all of my weight was centered. The small rip was further up the hammock.

In my rush to get packed and out the door that morning I just balled the hammock up, wrapped the tree straps around it and stuffed it in my pack. It is likely that a toggle, which are attached to my tree straps, poked it. It also could have happened when it wasn't in my pack and I just didn't notice it. I only found it because I had it hanging up to dry out and was inspecting it. It was hard to see unless I held the hammock up and spread it out.

"As a well spent day brings happy sleep, a well spent life brings happy death." -Da Vinci

Raiffnuke M50 Hammock

Swinginit, I didn't see a post where you mention your weight, will you please tell us? I am 200 and I have an m50 hammock.
I really do believe this material can be used, I also am aware to not prop myself up with my elbows alot. I think the elbow prop method should be tamed with this material unless its a double layer hammock.
Thanks

Swinginit, I didn't see a post where you mention your weight, will you please tell us? I am 200 and I have an m50 hammock.
Thanks

Per Swinginit:

I'm 5'8 175lbs, mine ripped in half from hem to hem. The hems were the only things holding it together. I had maybe 5 nights sleeping in it and many hours lounging in it. <snip>
Then on the first night of a 4 day trip on the AT with some fellow forum members,while i was falling asleep, I made a slight movement and heard a pop and hit the ground. I thought my suspension had failed because the sound was a pop and not a rip. But nope, the hammock completely ripped in half.

Luckily a few guys in our group were sleeping in the shelter so I was able to borrow a hammock for the night. But believe me when I say it is not fun getting up in sub freezing temps, in the dark, while it is sleeting, sticking your bare feet(only had one pair of dry socks) into wet shoes and completely redoing your hammock setup.

Also luckily it was the first night of the trip and I was able to bail out. Had it been the second night or had I been solo, I would have been screwed.

Moral of the story, M50 is crazy light but user beware. You could find yourself in a bad situation that makes you wish you weren't such a gram weenie and had carried a few more ounces of hammock.

Per Swinginit's subsequent post, a snipped reference to a poked hole was irrelevant to the failure, which did not originate at that blemish. So that is two fragilities: Insufficient toughness to stand up to stuffing without a hole poked, and bursting under the the load of the occupant's body.

Raiffnuke M50 Hammock

Maybe my investment into the m50 means it becomes a stay at home hammock.
Lets hope a ripstop version comes into the picture. I can't deny the issues people are having other than think this requires a dual layer of material.

A second layer does not reduce the fragility of each one, due to the high thread count.

Scales and gravity were not just just recently discovered. Hikers have always wanted to reduce unnecessary weight.The matter is to engineer the gear so that weight savings compromise durability as little as possible.

Rather than brute-force use of light fabrics, why not instead find ways to tailor and trim heavier fabrics; or use the light fabric in the most sheltered applications. I could yet be stupid or reckless in my nightly hanging and set-up; but so far I'd favor light fabrics for UQ's especially, because they are sheltered. The top is protected by the hammock bottom, and I can discipline myself to keep the UQ bottom from touching the ground, rocks, etc. So, between compromising toughness with the TQ, which might get torn by a key, belt buckle, or violent kick, or using the light fabric underneath, I'd favor underneath. But the hammock body? No, save weight with design, by resisting celebration of longer and wider hammocks.....and packing fewer donuts.